Igniter for internal-combustion engines.



I0 IODEL Inventor- 5" PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903. H. G. MEARS & H,- W.AYLWARD. IGNITER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1902.

Wlfnbssas Attogneys UNITED STATES Patented June 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT G. MEARS, OF NEW YORK, AND HENRY W. AYLWARD, OF BROOKLYN, NEWYORK, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE AUTO-IGNITER COMPANY, OFNEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY.

IGNITER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,365, dated June 30,1903. Application filed November 19 1902. Serial No. 131 ,972. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERBERT G. MEARS,

residing in the borough of Manhattan, and HENRY W. AYLWARD,residing inthe borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, State of New York, bothcitizens of the United States, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Igniters for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which thefollowing is a description.

Our invention relates to various new and useful improvements in ignitersfor internalcombustion engines; and the improvements have been designedparticularly for use with high-speed gas and gasolene engines employingelectric ignition. As is well known, it is possible to effectivelyregulate the speed of engines of this type within relatively wide limitsmerely by timing the ignition,whereby the explosion will take place atany part of the movement of the piston on the explosion-stroke or whilethe piston is actually nearing the end of the compression-stroke. Ourinvention is particularly designed for use with internal-combustionengines of this type, for the reason that we are enabled by very simplemechanism to regulate the timing of the spark. In its preferred form theinvention also possesses the advantage over devices for the purposeheretofore used of Our improved igniter is of the type invented by LePontois, employing a magnet with a coil surrounding one of its poles andwith an inductor movable with respect to said coil. As suggested by LePontois, this inductor may be formed of the engine fly-wheel itself, andthe relative movement between the inductor and pole may be effected bymerely cutting a gap in the fly-wheel, which gap may be left as anair-space or be filled with some non-magnetic material, like bronze.

The objects of our present invention are, first, to provide improvementsin igniting apparatus of the Le Pontois type by means of which thetiming of the ignition can be accurately and readily efiected, and,second,

to provide improvements in such apparatus by means of which thecomponent parts thereof are inclosed by the fly-wheel, so as to bethereby completely protected. Preferably these objects are accomplishedin one and the same apparatus.

In order that the invention may be better understood, attention isdirected to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the fly-wheel ofan internal-combustion engine, showing the improved igniting apparatusin its preferred form; and Fig. 2, a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.I

In both of the views corresponding parts are represented by the samereference-numorals.

The engine fly-wheel l is mounted on a shaft 2 and is provided with anoverhanging rim 3 and a hub 4. Loosely mounted on the hub 4, so that thehub will be capable of independent rotation with respect to the same,are two bearing-rings 5 5, formed with cast lugs or ears 6. These lugsor ears are screwed or bolted to soft-iron pole-pieces 7 8, which are ofany suitable form and construction. Gonnecting the pole-pieces 7' 8 areseparate permanently-magnetized bars 9 9, held in position byclamping-plates l0, screwed to the pole-pieces. Like poles of all themagnets cooperate with one of the pole-pieces and the other poles of themagnets with the other pole-piece, so that the pole-pieces 7 and 8practically constitute the two poles of a powerful magnet, Whoseinductor is the overhanging rim 3 of the fly-wheel. These polepiecescooperate as closely as possible with the fly-Wheel, so as to secure themaximum inductive efiect in operation. The pole-piece 7 is reduced atits outerv extremity to form a core 11, or instead a separate soft-ironcore, laminated or not, may be employed. This core is surrounded by acoil- 12, whose terminals lead to binding-screws 13, with whichconnection is made to the exterior circuit. On the under face of the rim3 is cut a gap 14 of the desired length and which may be left open toform an air-gap or be closed by a non-magnetic material, like bronze. Itwill be evident that if the fiy-wheel were not provided with such acut-away portion its rotation with respect to the core 11 would produceno effect in the coil; but by employing such a cut-away portion therotation of the flywheel results in the generation of a current in thecoil, the effect being the same as if the inductor were moved bodilytoward and away from the coil.

We make use of a polar extension 15 of any desired size and shape,carried by the pole-piece 7, as shown, in order that the magneticcircuit may not be broken at any time to thereby permit the magnets tobecome weakened, as would otherwise be the case. This polar extension isso located with respect to the pole-piece 7 and the gap 14 is soproportioned in length that the front of the gap does not reach thepolar extension 15 until the rear end of the gap has traversed a part ofits distance over the pole-piece. Thus, having reference to the parts asshown in Fig. 1, it will be seen that although the magnetic circuit isbroken at the core 11 by the gap covering the same (the effect being thesame as if the inductor were moved bodily from the core) the magneticcircuit is still closed at this pole through the polar extension 15. Onthe other hand, when the magnetic circuit tends to become opened by thegap passing over the extension 15 the magnetic circuit will be keptclosed between the core 11 and the inductor.

In order to properly time the spark, it is obvious that it is onlynecessary to provide a mechanism for quickly and conveniently adjustingthe coil 12 circumferentiallywith respect to the fly-wheel, so that thegap or cutaway portion 14 will cooperate with the coil at any desiredtime in its rotation. For this purpose we illustrate a pair of links 16,pivoted to the pole-pieces 7 and 8 and connected at their ends onopposite sides of the pivot of a hand-operated lever 17 withinconvenient reach of the operator. Any convenient means may be employedfor retaining the lever 17 in any position of its adjustmen as, forexample, by imposing some sort of frictional resistance in its pivot.

It will be understood that if the present improvements are to be used inconnection with an internal-combustion engine in which timing of thespark is not desired the bearing-rings 5 may be arranged so as to beincapable of independent circumferential adj ustment with respect to.the fly-wheelas, for example, by utilizing one or both of the links 16and by connecting the same at their free ends to an immovable abutment.Such an arrangement will possess the important advantage over existingconstructions of concealing the igniting mechanism entirely by thefiy-wheel, so as to protect it from injury, and of eflecting a materialsaving in space, which is of high importance in some arts as, forexample, when the engine is employed on an automobile. It will also beunderstood that while it is desirable that the igniting mechanism shouldbe entirely concealed within the fly-wheel that part of our inventionwhich provides for a convenient and ef fective circumferentialadjustment of the igniter with respect to the fly-wheel can be utilizedin other constructions, including those in which the igniting device isarranged exteriorly of the fly-wheel.

Having nowdescribed our invention, what we claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows l. The combinationwith a fly-wheel hav ing a cut-away section, of a magnet with respect towhose pole the fly-wheel moves, a coil surrounding said pole, and meansfor directly adjusting the magnet circumferem tially with respect tosaid fly-wheel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination with a fly-wheel having a cut-away portion, of aninduction-generator concentrically mounted with respect to saidfly-wheel, and means for adjusting said generator concentrically,substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

3. The combination with a fiy-wheel having a cut-away portion, of aninduction-generator with respect to which the fly-wheel rotates, saidgenerator being mounted within the inclosing ring of the fly-wheel so asto be protected thereby, substantially as and for the purposes setforth- 4. The combination with a fly-wheel having a cut-away portion, ofan induction-generator mounted within the fly-wheel, and means foradjusting said generator concentrically to the fiy-whcel, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination with a fly-wheel having a cut-away portion, of aninduction-generator concentrically mounted with respect to saidfly-wheel, and means for adjusting said generator circumferentially,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination with a fly-wheel havi ng a cut-away portion, of asleeve mounted on the hub of said fly-wheel and with respect to whichthe fiy-wheel rotates, and an inductiongenerator carried by said sleeve,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination with a fiy-wheel having a cut-away portion, of asleeve mounted on the hub of said fly-wheel and with respect to whichthe fly-wheel rotates, and means for adjusting said generatorcircumferentially with respect to the fiy-wheel, substantially as andfor the purposes set forth.

8. The combination with a fly-wheel having a cut-away portion, of asleeve mounted on the hub of the fly-wheel, a series of magnets carriedby said sleeve, a pole-piece for said magnets having a core, and a coilsurrounding said core, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. The combination with a fiy-wheel having a cut-away portion, of asleeve mounted on the hub of the fly-wheel, a series'of magnets carriedby said sleeve, a pole-piece for said magnets having a core, a coilsurrounding said core, and means for adjusting said sleeve independentlyof the fiy-wheel to effect a circumferential adjustment of said coil,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

10. The combination with a fiy-wheel having a cut-away portion, of amagnet mounted concentrically to the flywheel, a pole-piece for saidmagnet cooperating with the rim of the fly-wheel, a coil on saidpole-piece, and a polar extension for said pole-piece cooperating withthe fly-wheel rim, substantially as l 5 and for the purposes set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 1st day of November, 1902.

HERBERT G. MEARS. HENRY W. AYLWARD.

Witnesses to signature of Herbert G. Mears:

J. BAILLIE ALLEN, E. L. POWELL. Witnesses to signature of Henry W.Aylward:

JNo. RoBT. TAYLOR, J OHN LoUIs LOTSCH.

